The Comic Center of Pasadena

 The Big Bang Theory history

The Comic Center of Pasadena is Stuart Bloom’s comic book store, frequently visited by Sheldon, Leonard, Howard and Raj throughout The Big Bang Theory. The store was one of the group’s regular hangouts and the place where they bought many of their comic books and collectibles.

The store first appeared in Season 2 when Penny followed the guys there to buy a comic book for her nephew. Stuart helped her choose a gift and later asked her out after drawing a portrait of her. Over the years, the Comic Center hosted costume parties, a Valentine’s Day party, a Stan Lee signing and a Mystic Warlords of Ka’a tournament where Sheldon met his nemesis Wil Wheaton. Penny, Amy and Bernadette also visited the store when they tried to better understand the guys’ interest in comic books.

The business often struggled financially, with Stuart sometimes living in the back of the store. In the Season 7 finale, the Comic Center burned down in an accidental fire, leaving Stuart without a business or a place to live. With help from Debbie Wolowitz, Stuart later rebuilt and reopened the store.

Late in the series, the store attracted a rush of new customers after being praised online. Stuart hired Denise as assistant manager to help with the increased foot traffic, and the two eventually began dating.

 Stuart Fails to Save the Universe history

As Stuart and the group travel through different realities in Stuart Fails to Save the Universe, alternate versions of the Comic Center of Pasadena recur across the multiverse. The store often serves as a landing site for the travellers and as their home base, although its appearance and role can change between realities.

101 “Spoiler: Gary Dies”

In 101 “Spoiler: Gary Dies”, the Comic Center of Pasadena remains open even in the midst of an apocalypse. With burned-out cars, rabid dogs and mutant hands loose on the streets, the store stands as one of the few familiar places left. Its lights remain on despite the risk of attracting giant moths, while an inflatable balloon man continues waving from the roof.

Although the store no longer receives new comic books after the collapse of civilization, Stuart continues to trade old issues for food. He still welcomes regulars including Bert, who jokingly asks whether anything new has come in, and Kyle and Trevor, whose arguments are much more dangerous in this harsh reality. A dimensional rift in the middle of the store serves as Stuart’s garbage chute. Denise no longer works at the store, with Stuart presuming her dead.

It is in the comic book store that an alternate version of Stuart appears and tells him he can set things right by finding the vari-state quantum interference device created by Sheldon, Leonard and Howard at Caltech.

102 “Spoiler: Zack’s in This One”

In 102 “Spoiler: Zack’s in This One”, Stuart, Bert and Kripke arrive in a seemingly peaceful version of the comic book store, but the shelves quickly reveal that something is wrong. Kyle and Trevor politely resolve a disagreement over Superman and Lex Luthor: Best Buddies, while Stuart finds titles such as Richie Rich: Effective Altruist and, weirdest of all, an entire wall dedicated to Archie comics, which he insists he does not stock.

When Stuart and Kripke argue over who misconfigured the device, they are shocked by implants in their necks, helping Bert later identify the reality as a “classic totalitarian dystopia with a dollop of mind control surveillance”.

After escaping the AI world, Stuart and Denise land in another version of the store, where magic is real. Kyle and Trevor are once again at odds, this time over magical books including the Necronomicon and Alchemy for Dummies. Their argument escalates into spellcasting, with Kyle conjuring a snake from Trevor’s mouth and later putting an anus on his forehead.

103 “Spoiler: Bert is Magic”

In the magic reality of 103 “Spoiler: Bert is Magic”, the store is called The Wizard’s Sleeve and stocks magical versions of familiar products. Stuart is startled by a spirit escaping when he opens a Book of the Dead with a human face protruding from its cover. He is later amused by one of this reality’s comic books, Dr. Strange Colorectal Surgeon.

The Wizard’s Sleeve becomes the setting for a fight between Bert, a powerful wizard in this reality, and Wil Wheaton, an enforcer for the Wizards Guild of America who was sent to kill Stuart for aiding a demon. Later, Bernadette transforms into a five-story-high demon, tears the roof off the store and demands the vari-state quantum interference device so she can rule every world. Bert activates the machine just in time, sending the group to another reality.

104 “Spoiler: Stuart Makes a Wallet”

In the suburban reality of 104 “Spoiler: Stuart Makes a Wallet”, the Comic Center of Pasadena reflects the reality’s idealized suburban setting, reminiscent of Pleasantville. The store carries familiar comics and figurines but shows no signs of modern technology. Unlike in other realities, it does not function as the group’s multiverse home base, and Stuart does not land there with the vari-state quantum device. In this world, Stuart is a celebrated artist with a wife and children, not the store’s owner or even a regular customer.

After being released from a mental hospital, Stuart has accepted that his memories of other realities were delusions. Nevertheless, he feels drawn to the store while walking through downtown Pasadena. Inside, Kyle and Trevor are once again regulars, arguing over whether Thor’s magic obeys the laws of physics. Although they do not recognize Stuart in this universe, they ask him to settle their debate. Stuart surprises himself by confidently explaining that Thor and the other inhabitants of Asgard exist outside the paradigm of the physical universe, then wonders how he knew that.

As Stuart browses the store, he finds a Stuart Fails to Save the Universe comic book on the shelf, featuring himself, Denise, Bert, Kripke and the vari-state quantum device on the cover. Unseen by Stuart, Stuart Prime emerges from the back of the store and watches as Stuart goes to buy the comic. Stuart Prime then disappears through a wormhole.

105 “Spoiler: Bert Gets Married”

In the tropical reality of 105 “Spoiler: Bert Gets Married”, Stuart and the group are once again separated from their regular home base. With the tribe living in a pre-technological society without commerce or private ownership, there is no equivalent of the Comic Center of Pasadena.

After monogamy and private property are introduced to the village, throwing it into discord, Stuart repairs the quantum device and the group escapes. They arrive inside the comic book store in a seemingly ordinary version of Pasadena and wonder whether they have finally reached a normal universe. Denise casually leans towards a green plant on the counter, takes a bite from one of its leaves and agrees that it seems normal.

106 “Spoiler: Corn is Delicious”

In the reality where humans evolved from cows in 106 “Spoiler: Corn is Delicious”, the comic book store closely resembles its counterpart from the world before the apocalypse. An astronaut figure stands beside the entrance, while the shelves contain comic books and figurines from familiar franchises. The most noticeable difference is the addition of some potted plants, which the group naturally begins eating.

After the group arrives, Bert reads in a comic titled Your Amazing Body that humans in this reality have four stomachs like their bovine ancestors. Stuart and Denise decide that this technologically advanced, peaceful society is close enough and choose to remain there. They eat and sleep in a bedroom at the back of the store. While insisting that he is not a hero, Stuart describes himself as a “broke-ass failed artist who owns a comic book store”. He laments that he is such a failure that he owns a comic book store in every universe they visit.

Stuart Prime later visits the store to criticize Stuart for giving away the quantum device and abandoning his mission to save the universe. After Stuart ruminates on his decision during a conversation with Denise, a replacement vari-state quantum interference device is delivered to the store. Stuart activates it and leaves the reality Kripke calls “Cowtown” with Denise.

After Stuart and Denise reunite with Bert and Kripke and help them escape the cosmic void between universes, the group lands inside another seemingly ordinary version of the Comic Center of Pasadena, where they discover that people in this reality can hear one another’s thoughts.

107 “Spoiler: Dexys Midnight Runners Get a Royalty Payment”

In the telepathic reality of 107 “Spoiler: Dexys Midnight Runners Get a Royalty Payment”, the comic book store once again closely resembles its counterpart from before the apocalypse, stocking comic books and figurines from familiar franchises. There are fewer potted plants than in the previous reality, where humans evolved from cows.

Stuart and Denise again use the back room as a private space. While Bert and Kripke eat lunch in the store, the couple has sex and discovers that telepathy allows each of them to know exactly what the other wants.

After pursuing a group of lab-coated doubles through several realities and briefly entering a war zone, the group arrives inside another apparently normal comic book store, only to discover that they have horses’ bodies below the waist. The store’s otherwise familiar superhero merchandise also depicts centaurs, as does the NASA astronaut figure beside the entrance.

108 “Spoiler: We’re as Confused as You Are”

In the centaur reality of 108 “Spoiler: We’re as Confused as You Are”, Bert picks up a Justice League comic book and notes that the characters are all centaurs. He lists Superman, Batman and Green Lantern until Stuart tells him that they get it, then adds that Aquaman is a seahorse. Stuart decides that the group must return to the war-torn reality to recover the quantum device fitted with a controller.

The comic book store they arrive in is badly damaged, with a gaping hole in the wall, sections of the ceiling missing and rubble covering the floor. Denise notices the bodies of Kyle and Trevor on the ground surrounded by comic books. Stuart remarks, “They died how they lived, reading comics they didn’t pay for.” Outside, the store’s window is shattered and piles of broken bricks and rubble lie along the storefront. Only the final “ER” of the store’s name remains above the entrance, with a large section of the fallen sign leaning against the building.

The group later escapes the war zone and returns to the centaur store, inadvertently bringing the war-zone reality’s Penny with them. They leave her behind when they head back to the cow universe to find their lab-coated doubles. Initially bewildered by her new body, Penny begins to enjoy her horse form as she struts around the store, admitting, “I do not hate this.”

After seizing the improved device and escaping the war zone again, the group reaches another version of the comic book store. Its merchandise and surroundings appear familiar, but Kyle and Trevor are receiving instructions from the Adversary, a swirling entity of black tendrils with a glowing orange center. It announces that the group’s forward progress has been stopped and orders the pair to keep them there by refusing to sell a particular comic book.

On a nearby display, Stuart Fails to Save the Universe TRAPPED! depicts Stuart and his companions on its cover, now imprisoned in ink. Kripke’s illustrated mouth moves as he asks where they are, followed by Stuart’s as he guesses that, wherever they are, they are trapped.

109 “Spoiler: We Couldn’t Get Green Lantern”

In 109 “Spoiler: We Couldn’t Get Green Lantern”, the comic book store initially appears ordinary, with familiar superhero comics and collectibles. Kyle and Trevor pass the time arguing about Hawkeye’s standing among the Avengers, while Kyle later plays with Batman and Penguin figurines behind the counter. The two regulars are under orders from the Adversary, a swirling entity of black tendrils with a glowing orange core, to keep Stuart and his companions imprisoned by refusing to sell Stuart Fails to Save the Universe TRAPPED!.

Stuart identifies the comic’s location among the new releases, between Marvel and Vertigo. He and his companions shuffle off its cover and step into the story inside. Despite Kyle’s objections, Trevor reads the comic and discovers that the group are no longer on the cover, having made their way to Gotham’s airport. The Adversary returns to the store looking for Trevor.

As the Adversary appears to hold him responsible for the group’s progress, Trevor argues that he was only told not to sell the comic, with no instruction against reading it. The Adversary cuts short Trevor’s defense with an energy beam, which leaves only the comic and his charred sneakers behind. The Adversary then summons Mr. Freeze onto the comic’s cover and sends him after the group. Kyle nervously offers to order Chinese food if the entity plans to stay, but it disappears.

With the help of Jay Garrick, the Golden Age Flash, Stuart and his companions use the Cosmic Treadmill to escape the comic book world and return to the store. Stuart Fails to Save the Universe TRAPPED! remains on display, its cover now blank apart from the title. Kyle emerges from the back room and panics at finding the group there in person, warning that the Adversary will be angry and looking for someone to blame.

When Kripke tries to leave through the front door, he nearly steps into an endless black void. As the others join him at the entrance, Stuart peers into the darkness and observes, “This is not Pasadena.” A burst of audience laughter prompts Kripke to ask, “What the hell was that?” As the view pulls back, the store is revealed to be floating alone in the vast blackness.

This page has been updated up to episode 109 Spoiler: We Couldn't Get Green Lantern